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In the United States, state education agencies (SEAs) are required to regularly identify low-performing schools. Initiating the school improvement process is one of the most important, yet most challenging steps. The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has been nationally recognized for the way it initiates the school improvement process. This study seeks to distill findings from 476 suggested first steps issued by the KDE to create action statements that a school leader could use when initiating school improvement on their own. School improvement audit reports were accessed from the KDE. Four hundred seventy-six school improvement priorities (IPs) were coded using a two-tier conceptual coding protocol to distil IPs into essential improvement priorities (EIPs) that reflect the steps required to initiate school improvement. The coding protocol yielded 38 EIPs divided among eight themes. The most frequently assigned EIP relates to the deployment of a consistent improvement process, with the second most frequently assigned EIP being related to the establishment of a school-wide instructional process. Leaders of schools with declining performance may use the EIPs identified by this study to inform their improvement efforts as they seek to enhance teaching and learning conditions in their school.

The present study explores the antecedents of first- and second-generation (1G and 2G) immigrant students' academic performance using PISA 2018 data. The study draws on an international sample of 11,582 students from 534 schools in 20 countries and focuses on PISA schools that catered to a mix of 1G and 2G students. The study explores the role that student attributes, student-perceived peer and parental support, school provisions, and school equity-oriented policies have on immigrant student academic achievement. The analysis involved specifying three separate stepwise multi-level regression models for mathematics, science, and reading achievement. Findings suggested that, at the within-school level, perceived parental support and teacher enthusiasm and the adaption of instruction were associated with improved academic performance, while student experience of bullying was associated with more substantive negative academic outcomes. At the between-school level, the opportunity to participate in creative extracurricular activities was associated with improved academic performance. In contrast, a higher proportion of 1G students and the overall perceived level of bullying of immigrant students were associated with substantively negative academic outcomes between schools. Tests of moderation effects suggested that parental emotional support appeared to be of particular relevance to 1G students' math and reading outcomes, while enhanced SES status appeared to be specifically relevant to improved science and reading outcomes for 1G students. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Exploratory data analysis (EDA) is an iterative, open-ended data analysis procedure that allows practitioners to examine data without pre-conceived notions to advise improvement processes and make informed decisions. Education is a data-rich field that is primed for a transition into a deeper, more purposeful use of data. This article introduces the concept of EDA as a necessary structure to be embedded in school activities by situating it within the literature related to data-driven decision-making, continuous school improvement systems, and action research methodologies. It also provides a succinct six-part framework to guide practitioners in establishing EDA procedures.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of an online language immersion program on the participants' self-efficacy for culturally responsive teaching. Design/methodology/approach: The Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale (Siwatu, 2007), the Culturally Responsive Teaching Outcome Expectations Scale (Siwatu, 2007) and the Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Self-Efficacy Scale (Siwatu, et al., 2015) were used to examine the impact of the intervention using a pretest/posttest analysis. Participant reflections were also qualitatively coded to provide further insight into the program. Findings: The intervention showed a statistically significant and positive change to participant's self-efficacy in the areas of culturally responsive teaching and culturally responsive classroom management. Participants showed growth in outcome expectancy, but this change was not statistically significant. Practical implications: Educators working with a high number of English learners (EL) can benefit from the intervention, which allows the educator to share in the language learning experience and gain a deeper understanding of the day-to-day challenges faced by their students. Originality/value: This study represents the second attempt to document the impact of the BaseLang Grammarless program as a professional learning intervention for K-12 educators working in schools with a high rate of EL.

Much debate exists concerning the factorial dimensionality of student well-being. We contribute to this debate by drawing on PISA 2018 data from a total of 61,722 students, 2528 schools, and nine countries. For our investigation, we test multiple associated measurement models for convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity, model fit, and measurement invariance. For the PISA 2018 sample, we found very little variation in student well-being both between schools and between countries suggesting that variation in student well-being exists predominantly within respective school contexts. In addition, our findings support the notion that student life-satisfaction should be split into separate general and school-based factors in a Bi-Dimensional Life-Satisfaction Model. Moreover, results suggest that PISA 2018 data can be used to successfully measure a Four-Factor Hedonic Model of Student Well-being, tackling both cognitive (general life-satisfaction and satisfaction with school factors) and affective features (positive and negative affect). Finally, we propose a Five-Factor Integrative Model of Student Well-being that supports a broader conceptualization of student well-being that includes life-satisfaction, both positive and negative affect, and eudaemonia. We tested this model and found that it met the requirements for scalar invariance across male and female gender groups. However, for all 36 inter-country tests of measurement invariance, metric invariance was only reached nine times (25%), and scalar invariance was reached once (2.8%). Implications and recommendations for follow up research are provided.

In Kazakhstan, an increasing school student population, low rates of graduates entering the profession, and high novice teacher attrition have made the attraction and retention of quality teachers a critical issue. To investigate this problem, the authors draw on the 2018 TALIS dataset involving a survey of 5201 Kazakhstani teachers from 275 participating schools. The study, framed by Chapman's teacher attrition model, uses a nested data design. As an outcome variable, the authors make use of a corollary of attrition, the self-reported career commitment variable in the Kazakhstani TALIS dataset. The analysis suggests that teachers who enter the profession with enhanced altruistic tendencies have improved self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Further, teaching-as-a-first-career-choice appears to drive both job satisfaction and career commitment, while learning to manage behaviour and mixed-ability settings also appears to drive improved long-term career commitment. Implications for teacher education and research in other Central Asian and post-Soviet countries are offered.

This paper draws on a survey conducted in 2020-21 in which 163 secondary English teachers in England named a total of 68 individual poems by poets of colour from the global majority which they taught in Key Stage 3 (students aged 11-14). Using the concepts of framing and mental schemas, we categorised these poems by considering which was the most likely frame or theme under which they would be taught. The largest category was Identity (15 poems), followed by War and Conflict (12 poems) and Racism (11 poems). War and Conflict, together with Love and Relationships (7 poems) are categories which reflect GCSE groups of poems. We suggest that poems by global majority poets which are incorporated into the curriculum are likely to be largely framed as being about race or related issues. The exception is the "strong" framing of the GCSE clusters. We argue that this is a shortfall in the ways in which the curriculum is being diversified. We note the long shadow of "Poetry from Other Cultures" and suggest that we need both more poems from global majority authors and more variety in the themes which they explore.

Since the late 1970s, researchers and policy makers have debated the role of research in policy making. Since the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, education policy has experienced a renewed interest in this topic. ESSA presents a rigorous framework and set of requirements for research use in educational decision making. This paper presents an evidence-informed model that education agencies (EAs) can follow to support schools in the implementation of ESSA's evidence-based practice provisions. The model includes three key activities that EAs should engage in to become effective research intermediaries: (1) model effective research use, (2) build capacity in educators, and (3) promote action research.

Since 2015, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has provided schools across the state with access to highly skilled instructional coaches. Primarily working in rural settings, these coaches provide a voluntary, integrated coaching model that focuses on building sustainable systems. Coaches provide a range of services, including systems design, strategic planning support, whole-team professional learning, professional learning community (PLC) facilitation, and fidelity monitoring. This article describes the theory of action for KDE's Continuous Improvement Coaching program, presents two case studies of rural elementary schools who utilized the program, and discusses the key features of the program and its relevance for rural schools.

In 2018, Kentucky began the implementation of a new school accountability system. Like other states across the nation, Kentucky's new system was designed to bring state policy into alignment with federal changes brought about by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015. In addition to the creation of new school improvement labels, Kentucky's system also reports on a variety of teacher-centric school quality factors. A statistical analysis was conducted to determine if a relationship exists between these school quality factors and the school's improvement designation. The study found that schools identified as needing the greatest improvement (Comprehensive Support and Improvement [CSI]) are statistically more likely to have higher teacher turnover rates, higher percentages of new teachers, and employ teachers with lower rates of advanced education in the year prior to identification than their counterparts with either the Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) or Other designations. These findings should inform future policy making and elevate teacher recruitment and retention as a school improvement priority.

Effective student-teacher relationships lead to positive behavioral development of students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the influence of student-teacher relationships on the passive-aggressive behavior of students. A phenomenological research design was used to observe the classroom phenomena of two private sector schools that willingly agreed to participate in the study. Notes taken from twelve scheduled classroom observations, seven follow up interviews of selective students, and five teachers were used as sources of data. Data were audio recorded, transcribed, and an iterative process was employed to code responses in NVivo 10 which merged into some themes and sub-themes. The findings uncover several important ways in which student-teacher relationships might influence the passive-aggressive behavior of students in the classroom. It was revealed that the passive-aggressive behavior of students was driven by the fact that students were mainly dependent on teachers, disliked teachers' authority, lacked self-confidence, and wanted to avoid responsibility without confronting the teacher. While more warm, friendly, and welcoming behavior from teachers can ameliorate students' passive aggressive behavior, strict teacher behavior has the opposite effect exacerbating passive-aggressive behavioral issues among students. Traditional teaching should evolve with interactive pedagogies to develop interest, positive behaviors, and active learners.

This study analyzed the latest four PISA surveys, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018, to explore the association between students' ICT-related use and math and science performance. Using ICT Engagement Theory as a theoretical framework and a three-level hierarchical linear modeling approach, while controlling for confounding effects, ICT-related independent variables of interest were added to the models at the student, school, and country levels. The series of models revealed that, in general, an increase in ICT availability and ICT use both inside and outside school had a negative association with learning outcomes, while students' positive attitude toward ICT demonstrated a strong positive relationship. However, students' perceived autonomy related to ICT use had the strongest association with academic performance, which is consistent with the changing nature of the modern learning environments. Findings revealed that virtually all forms of student ICT use, both inside and outside of school and whether subject related or not, had no substantive positive relationship with student performance in math or science. Conversely, higher student attitude toward, confidence in, belief in utility of, and autonomous use of ICT was associated with higher math and science performance for each of the four years of the study. Incidentally, we also found that while country GDP per capita had no consistent association with student performance, a school's provision of extra-curricula activities did. Recommendations for educational leaders, teachers, and parents are offered.

Purpose: This study aims to document the impact of an 80-h virtual Spanish language immersion program on four elementary school leaders in Kentucky. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a mixed methods approach. Each subject participated in three semi-structured interviews with the researcher and a standardized oral language assessment. Findings: Participants expressed greater confidence when interacting with students and families who do not speak English, greater empathy for students learning English, new cross-cultural understandings and deeper knowledge about the language acquisition process and language instruction. Practical implications: Training in a foreign language may prove to be a valuable professional learning activity for leaders seeking to develop a stronger skillset and mindset for multicultural education. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the literature by documenting a previously un-researched virtual language immersion program.

Research in international large-scale assessment (ILSA) has become an increasingly popular field of study in education. Consequently, interest and debate in the field by practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public has grown over the past decades. This study adopts a descriptive bibliometric approach to map modern research on ILSA in education and provide an up-to-date picture of the recent developments and structure of the field. The analysis of 2,233 journal articles indexed in the Web of Sciences database revealed that ILSA research in education is an emerging field in a stage of exponential growth that has become increasingly international with recent substantive contributions from China, Spain, and Turkey. Research in the field is currently produced by a tupid network of scholars with diverse geographical backgrounds that engage frequently in national and international research collaborations. Also, the field is relatively interdisciplinary and has developed grounded on nine differentiated historical paths. The PISA program has received the greatest attention in the field, and a wide variety of topics have been addressed in the literature in the last decades, including equity and quality education, globalization and education policy, measurement and statistics, student motivation and self-concept, and interpersonal relationships. The paper concludes by pointing to the potential of future ILSA research to make use of new more relevant instrumentation, data linkages, and trans-regional collaborations.

In terms of instructional sequencing and cognitive load research, it remains unclear what effect different instructional sequences have on cognitive load and how to use problem-solving support within instructional sequences to reduce cognitive load. The current study examines how instructional sequencing and problem-solving support interact with different types of cognitive load and learner performance. University students (n = 254) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: an explicit instruction first sequence, an unsupported problem-solving first sequence, and a supported problem-solving first sequence. Results show that intrinsic load did not differ across the three conditions, extraneous load was lowest in the explicit instruction first and supported problem-solving first conditions, germane load was highest in the supported problem-solving first condition, and performance was highest in the explicit instruction first condition. Providing insight into specific ways instructional sequencing and problem-solving support can reduce cognitive load; results suggest that either problem-solving activities need support or explicit instruction is needed before problem-solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Maori Whakatauki (significant saying) for Technology Education: Kaua e rangiruatia te hapai o te hoe; E kore to tatou waka e u ki uta. Don't paddle out of unison; Our canoe will never reach the shore. Quality initial teacher education (ITE) builds on student prior knowledge. Students bring a wealth of life and career knowledge and skills to inform the planning of our Technology Education programmes, as an essential starting point. This paper seeks to establish a clear benchmark for planning programme origins through identifying and incorporating the real nature of our student entry understandings. We outline a large-scale New Zealand study that explores student entry understandings of technology and Technology Education. The scope of the study involves 906 ITE student teachers across early childhood, primary and secondary sectors. A questionnaire, held on the first day of each programme, initiated the research by investigating the influence of demographic and other factors on student attitudes and understandings of technology and Technology Education. Results revealed that participants viewed technology positively, and understood the role and importance of key aspects of technology and therefore the place of Technology Education, this however varied between age and sectors. Findings have informed current programme planning, by providing an appropriately targeted approach to initial ITE Technology Education delivery. The resulting programme delivery will go some way to ensuring an informed common message will reticulate to communities and schools about the real benefits of learning the technology way. These findings also provide a solid basis for a national longitudinal study.

Hansen states that "FL studies must learn to conceive of culture as an open, multi-voiced and dialogical interaction full of contradictions." One advocated approach to teach transcultural understanding is through the analysis of cultural narratives. Kearney defines cultural narratives as "the multiple (sometimes competing), conventional storylines that cultural groups produce and use to make sense of and attribute meaning to their shared experiences." This article will showcase a project in a beginning French course in which four different Parisians from the same quarter were asked to document and share the stories of their lives with a virtual reality (VR) camera. Findings reveal that the VR narratives allowed students to envision, experience, and understand diverse facets of Parisian culture and more vividly imagine their future role as participants in Parisian communities.

Central Asian researchers are underrepresented in the global research production in social sciences, resulting in a limited Central Asian perspective on many social issues. To stimulate the production of local knowledge, it is important to develop strong research cultures, including knowledge of ethical practices in research with human participants. There is currently scarce evidence about research ethics regulations used by social science researchers working in the Central Asian region. This article reports findings from an online survey conducted in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan (n = 296) from October 2021 to January 2022. Focusing on three Central Asian countries, this article addresses the following research questions: What are the attitudes and practices of social science researchers based in Central Asia toward research ethics regulations and research ethics committees (RECs)? Is research ethics training associated with improved attitudes and practices in relation to research ethics among social scientists based in Central Asia? Is research experience associated with improved attitudes and practices in relation to research ethics among social scientists based in Central Asia? Regression analyses results demonstrate that locally based social scientists with prior research ethics training implement ethical procedures in their empirical research practice more often compared to researchers without any prior research ethics training. The preliminary findings indicate that research ethics training is positively associated with Central Asia-based social science researchers' engagement in ethical research, thus potentially increasing the amount and quality of empirical social science research produced in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is a common technique utilized in the development of assessment instruments. The key question when performing this procedure is how to best estimate the number of factors to retain. This is especially important as under- or over-extraction may lead to erroneous conclusions. Although recent advancements have been made to answer the number of factors question, popular statistical packages do not come standard with these modern techniques. This paper details how to program IBM SPSS Statistics software (SPSS) to conveniently perform five modern techniques designed to estimate the number of factors to retain. By utilizing the five empirically-supported techniques illustrated in this article, researchers will be able to more judiciously model data. (Contains 9 figures, 2 tables and 1 footnote.)

The article presents some notes on normalization and illustrates these procedures using graphing functions in R. Using real data, the paper also presents an R package and online Shiny app that efficiently transforms variables in large datasets.

The mobilization of teacher leadership, simultaneous decentralization of power, and centralization of support for teacher-led initiatives is seen as important to educational improvement in post-Soviet Kazakhstan where hierarchical cultures and structures still prevail. The current study reports on results from the Teacher Leadership in Kazakhstan (TLK) initiative, which was based on the internationally recognized Teacher-led development work strategy that enabled teachers to lead individual development projects throughout one academic school year. The TLK initiative involved 16 principals, 32 school-based facilitators, and 150 teachers. Using a mixed-methods design, research for the initiative was conducted over one academic year and collected a wide range of data through questionnaire surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Analysis using structural equation modeling suggested that improved teacher program experience resulted in enhanced teacher leadership capacity, and that teachers from more collaborative school cultures enjoy more impactful initiatives. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups provide further insights into these findings. Implications for policy and practice and future directions are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With Kentucky's adoption of the national core standards, literacy in all content areas has received a new and revived focus in our state. Students of all grade levels are expected to be able to communicate complex ideas with clarity of focus that has not been necessary in the past. The music educator must be able to adapt and grow in order to keep up with the changing times. By teaching writing techniques through the music curriculum, the music teacher will be armed with powerful tools for advocacy, new assessment mechanisms for students, and the ability to achieve success for students who otherwise would struggle to compete in the general education classroom.